On days I have a little extra time — and extra stuff I couldn’t get into my column, I’ll type out this stuff. If not, I won’t. But today, I do have plenty of extra stuff. Such as:

This is ridiculous. When I went out to catch a bus Wednesday, the temperature indicator on the electronic readout above the driver said “+23.” That’s the equivalent of 73 degrees Fahrenheit. At the Winter Olympics!

I’m not sure how much havoc this is playing with the snow at mountain venues — I wrote a column that addressed the issue on Tuesday — but I do know that I should have packed more sunscreen.

* I had some really bad luck Wednesday night, pursuing what I thought might b a very good story, one that would be a nostalgic flashback it was for any fan of the Sharks. Wednesday night, the 41-year-old Sandis Ozolinsh was out on the ice playing defense for Latvia against Switzerland on the first day of ice hockey.

Ozolinsh was a member of the original Sharks expansion team of 1991-92 that played at the Cow Palace. He’s now playing in the Kontinental Hockey League based in Russia and Eastern Europe.

And the old guy still has endurance. He had 22:42 of ice time Wednesday, second most for on Latvia team and third most for anyone on either team. He’s also the team captain and served as Latvian’s flag bearer during the Opening Ceremonies. Given some of the troubles he endured in San Jose – he had alcohol issues and a DUI arrest, which played a role in the Sharks’ decision to trade him in 1995, just two years after he’d led the NHL in goals by a defenseman – it was great to see him reach a stage in his life where he was obviously held in such high esteem by his nation..

I figured that it would be fun to talk with Ozolinsh a little bit about his journey, if I could catch him for a few minutes after Wednesday’s game. But the worst possible thing happened. Switzerland won the game, 1-0, on a goal with just seven seconds remaining in the third period.

Ozolinsh was clearly upset about the finish as he came through the “mixed zone” where athletes are interviewed and uttered nearly all of his brief remarks in Latvian to reporters from his native land. When a few of us began asking questions in English, he waved his hand and said: “We played hard, every shift, every second – and that’s it.” And then he walked into the locker room.

I understood. Maybe on another night, after a victory, Ozolinsh will be in a better mood.

* The Sochi construction saga continues. When I leave and enter my hotel complex, I need to walk through a checkpoint with a guard and a railroad-crossing type gate that rises and falls. But as you may have heard, things weren’t entirely ready for the Olympics when they began. Which meant that the area between the guard shack and the sidewalk is all mud, no grass. A wooden pallet had been clumsily placed atop the mud, so folks could avoid stepping in the goo.

But wait! I woke up Wednesday morning and the wooden pallet had been replaced by . . . freshly poured concrete. On Day 6 of the games. I was just wondering how that decision was made by someone in a Russian position of authority: “Well, we’re almost a week into things, might as well give them concrete.”

Hope the construction is dry by this morning. And who knows what new construction wonders await? Hey, at least they’re trying to make things better.

* Going up to the mountain venues is a real slog, involving an hourlong bus ride, then a transfer to another bus, then another hourlong ride to whichever venue is holding the event. But the trip to the women’s ski jump event on Tuesday night was well worth it, even if it meant getting back to the hotel at 3:30 a.m. because the competition didn’t end until nearly midnight. Anyone who attends a Winter Olympics is missing the boat by not attending the ski jump, if only because so few ski jumps in the world exist. I think there are only five in North America. And the Russians have built a really impressive one here.

* And finally: I’m not sure which is more fabulous here, the wild pants worn by men’s curling teams over at the Ice Cube Arena (yes that’s the real name) or the colorful outfits worn by openly gay USA figure skating commentator and former Olympian Johnny Weir. But if Weir ever walks into the Ice Cube, I would worry about a fashion explosion.

On days I have a little extra time — and extra stuff I couldn’t get into my column, I’ll type out this stuff. If not, I won’t. But today, I do have plenty of extra stuff. Such as:

My major regret Saturday was not getting enough about Squaw Valley skier Travis Ganong into my column about the men’s downhill. Ganong was the highest-placing American in the race, finishing a surprising fifth. Afterward, the 25-year-old was visibly geeked about his performance, especially on such a tough hill.

“Usually on most downhill courses, there are places to take a breather,” Ganong said. “Not on this course.”

Ganong has never had a podium finish at a World Cup event. This is his first Olympics. But when he crossed the finish line Sunday after being the seventh competitor out of the starting gate, Ganong looked up and saw his name listed as No. 1 on the scoreboard. He then watched it move down gradually as faster skiers posted better times.

“The thought that maybe I was really going to have the opportunity to medal went through my mind for about three minutes,” Ganong said good naturedly. “But then those three minutes were up and reality set in.”

Ganong is young enough that he could ski in two more Olympic Games. His personality is such that if he breaks through and wins a gold medal in any event, he could become a real breakout star with casual sports fans.

* Saturday was the toughest Olympic travel day so far, at least for me. It’s a two hour ride involving three bus transfers to reach the Alpine skiing venue in Krasnaya Polyana. That’s where the downhill race was being held. Meant an early wakeup call. It also meant another good look at some of that $51 billion spent on the Winter Olympics here – and what the ultimate Russian strategy is for earning back that money.

Guess what? Most of the dough wasn’t spent on the Olympic venues at all. It was spent on roads and train lines to REACH the Olympic venues. The 30-mile road from the Black Sea coast to the ski resorts where competition takes place is brand new with multiple tunnels and bridges. They carry people to a complex of hotels and villas that Russian leaders would like to see become the Aspen or Vail of their country.

No, that is not a misprint. The Sochi area has long been a popular summer vacation destination for Russians. But the master plan is for it to become a hot spot for holiday seekers from other Eastern European nations all year round. Around three million tourists visited Sochi as tourists last year. A Russian official said last week that the goal is for that to double, with six million coming next year. I have no idea what other reasonable vacation options exist for people from, say, Turkey or Romania. But I seriously wonder if Sochi will go to the top of their list.

Some of the hotels in Krasnaya Polyana do look pretty nice. But that’s from the outside. Inside, we’ve all heard about the shoddy finish work. The bad press about accomodations might be helping the master plan. But know what would be worse in terms of keeping people away? I think we all do. It’s why Putin has half the Russian Army here.

* My column for Monday’s paper was, of course, about USA skiing conundrum Bode Miller. This is my fifth Winter Olympics. I’ve covered Miller’s races at several. I want to like the guy. I really do. But he continues to put himself in a bad light, to my viewpoint, by being all over the place with his comments and sometimes not even making sense.

* Most maddeningly, Miller likes to say that results don’t matter if you ski your best, which is a fine sentiment and approach. But when he skiied as best he could Sunday, he finished eighth. Then he both admitted big disappointment and didn’t seem to accept the result at all. He blamed his slightly sub-par run on the course conditions changing for the worse as the morning went on, before he took his turn as the 15th man off the start line. Miller said the 14 previous skiers (which included Ganong) caused the course to get choppy as they whisked across the icy pack, which affected Miller’s performance as someone later off the line..

Okay, fine. But the theory fell apart under closer examination. Christof Innerhofer of Italy left the start gate five skiers AFTER Miller. And yet Innerhofer posted a good enough time to claim the silver medal. Going by Miller’s theory, shouldn’t the course conditions have been even worse for Innerhofer? But he skiied the second segment of the course .1 second faster than Miller and skiied the third segment of the course .3 seconds faster. Two other competitors who followed Miller out of the starting gate also skiied faster than him on the supposedly deteriorating “slow” course.

* Wouldn’t that tell you that those skiiers simply did a better job through the treacherous middle of the course? So why couldn’t Miller himself compliment them and concede he wasn’t as good? Bode reminds me a little of Tiger Woods, another athlete I’ve criticized for sometimes blaming course conditions (remember his gripes about the “bumpy greens” at Pebble Beach) rather than critiquing his own play honestly. Perhaps both Miller and Woods have psyches that won’t let them admit they are not better than everyone else. That attitude is not a crime. But it’s also not something I have to admire.

* I think I would like the Team Figure Skating event more if it included, you know, some sort of real “team” event. Maybe a tag team competition? Where the pairs skaters and ice dancers tag up in the middle of a routine and switch partners? Or perhaps the three finalists in each event all competing at the same time, fighting for space on the ice, with elbowing allowed?

* As you can tell from the last item, I’m way too eager for the men’s hockey tournament to begin.

* Speaking of which, the USA and Canada men’s hockey teams hold their first practices on Monday. I’ll be there, to see how the Sharks on those rosters handled the trip across the Atlantic. Seems unfair to me that the NHL scheduled games through Saturday night, meaning their players could not be here to march in the Opening Ceremony.

* The Swiss women’s hockey team here has a San Jose Sharks’ connection. Alina Mueller, just 15 years old, is the sister of Mirco Mueller, who is considered the Sharks’ top 18-year-old prospect. He’s a defenseman for the Everett Silvertips junior club in Washington state. Mirco is 6-foot-4 inches tall. Alina is just 5-foot-4. Mayve she’ll grow into an intimidating force like her brother. But for now, Alina looks like, well, a 15-year-old kid.

* And finally: In an Olympic souvenir shop I visited, among the prominent items displayed on the store racks are sets of white knit winter gloves with the Sochi logo on the palm. But each of the five fingers is dyed a separate color in . . . that’s right, a rainbow effect. As in the rainbow flag. As in the symbol for the gay movement worldwide. It makes me wonder if someone in the Sochi 2014 glove design department decided to send a subtle message to Russian lawmakers. Can people even wear those gloves to Olympic events and not get arrested? Stay tuned.

On days I have a little extra time — and extra stuff I couldn’t get into my column, I’ll type out this stuff. If not, I won’t. But today, I do have plenty of extra stuff. Such as:

Must admit, I did not see this latest Olympic flap coming. When I watched the torch lighting ceremony Friday night, I was mostly focused on Vladislav Tretiak, the former Soviet Union hockey goalie who was one-half of the final torch-lighting duo. As a pucks lover, I know what a legend he is, not just in Russia but throughout the hockey world.

I did not pay much attention to the other half of the duo, former Soviet figure skater Irina Rodnina. So it caught me off guard when a quasi-firestorm erupted in social media about her. Some diligent reporters unearthed the fact that Rodnina had once tweeted (or re-tweeted) a photo of United States President Barack Obama sitting at a basketball game chewing a mouth full of food–with the photoshopped addition of an arm holding a banana in front of Obama.

Rodnina, who lived and worked in the USA for awhile as a skating coach, was called out on the blatantly racist gesture. She eventually deleted the tweet. But she never apologized for originally posting the picture because she said it amounted to free speech. Thus, the Russian Olympic leadership’s gesture of appointing Rodnina to light the torch might be considered a between-the-lines rebuke to Obama, who chose not to attend the Opening Ceremonies – and pointedly sent a delegation that included openly gay former athletes, such as the Bay Area’s Brian Boitano. This, of course, was a not-so-subtle rebuke to Russia’s controversial law that outlaws “Gay Propaganda,” which is supported by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

I’m not sure how many average Russian citizens were aware of Rodnina’s loathsome tweet. But you can bet that Putin was – and that he at least had sign-off duties on the Sochi torch bearers. But was Rodnina picked for that reason? At a post-ceremonies media conference, Russian officials said it was only because of her Olympic feats. We’ll probably never get the whole story.

Thank goodness that the skiers are finally skiing and the skaters are finally skating. Maybe we can stop talking about politics and start talking about sports. But I am starting to wonder if Obama and Putin are leaders of the free and not-quite-as-free world, or if they are waging some sort of passive-aggressive political water balloon fight against each other through the likes of Boitano and Rodnina.

My feeling is that in a global event such as the Winter Games, it is impossible to separate sports and politics, no matter what the Olympic charter says. And in this case, the back-and-forth is both perversely entertaining and compelling. But the Games are always better when they are about, you know, Games.

One interesting sidelight: I am certain that Boitano and Rodnina know each other from crossing paths at figure skating events over the years. It would be interesting if they do so again here. Just ponder the unsaid thoughts percolating beneath any potential handshake between the two.

* I visited with Boitano for a while on Friday, as you’ll know if you read my column about the interview. He and the rest of the presidential delegation are staying at one of the new luxury waterfront hotels on the Black Sea near the Olympic Village. The accommodations are far plusher than those of me and my fellow journalists.

Nhat Meyer, the Mercury News photographer, walked from our place to Boitano’s hotel. It was maybe a mile, on a nice bright day. I even got a little sunburned. We passed a few restaurants and bars, including one that advertised “Live Beers On Tap.” Whatever that means. We also passed a story with a simple sign out front that said: “Products.” Whatever that means.

I have known Boitano since 1987 or 1988, when he won his figure skating gold medal in Calgary. He’s always been a classy guy, though he also has a goofy side that I like. After he made his official statements with the delegation outside on a large balcony, he agreed to sit down for 10 or 15 minutes of a one-on-one interview inside the hotel. We talked about several topics, including his role in the delegation and why he decided to finally come out as a gay man (that’s in the column) but also about teenaged San Jose figure skater Polina Edmunds (that’ll be in a future column.)

* On the walk back from Boitano’s hotel, Meyer and I decided to stop for lunch. We picked out a place near the “beach” (which has no sand, just rocks). I ordered a beef stroganoff dish that wasn’t bad. But the real highlight was having the server put an ashtray on the table.

At certain moments, you feel as if you’re back in the 1950’s inAmerica here. The ashtray moment was one of them. When was the last time an ashtray appeared on any restaurant table in the USA? Well, other than in a “Mad Men” episode?

No, I didn’t smoke. But a woman at the next table did. I guess in Russia, Pall Malls go good with stroganoff.

* Saturday morning, it was time for an initial trip to the mountains. As has been widely reported, Russia spent $51 billion on these Games. On the ride, you can see where a lot of the reported $51 billion went – building a road with many impressive tunnels and bridges that leads to the ski hills and a resort area Putin hopes to become the Russian version of Aspen or Vail.

I’ll be writing my observations about that in a future column, also. But first, a few words about the slopestyle event that I covered, won by a mellowed-out American named Sage Kotsenburg. (Read my column here.)

I only do this once every four years. So I am no snowboarding expert. Kotsenburg did some fantastic tricks. But so did all the other competitors. And search me if I could tell why the judges awarded more points for some and not others.

Slopestyle is this sort of event: A snowboarder will begin by hopping and bouncing off the “rail features,” then fly off a snow ramp to do loopy loop stuff that seems impossible, then soar off another hill and hang in midair for five seconds while doing even more preposterous acrobatics before sliding across the finish line . . . and then end up ninth in the standings when the scores are tallied.

I am still not sure how I feel about all the X-Games sort of events being involved at the Olympics. For a certain generation – okay, for us old crusty dudes – the Olympic events were usually seen as a noble and more dignified form of competition. But up here on the hillside, as the snowboarders slide down the course, loud music plays on the speakers and public address announcers scream commentary in multiple languages, as if it were just another stop on the snowboarding tour. I’d love to see what the snowboard events would look like and how they would feel without all that. The younger and non-crusty folks might be surprised at how much they enjoy it.

One thing I do love about the snowboarders: They are terrifically quotable. Canadian boarder Mark McMorris called the course here “the most insane roller coaster ever.” And after the finish, Kotsenburg said, “It’s sick to be on the podium with these guys.”

But my favorite quotes came from also-ran boarders. For instance, Scotty James of Austria more or less blamed his sub-par performance on “hurting his man parts.” Meanwhile, Alexey Sobolev of Russia had his cell phone number painted on his helmet during Thursday’s qualifying. This led to many women texting him with, ahem, good luck wishes and pictures.

“Some of the messages are not appropriate to read out loud,” Sobolev reported.

On days I have a little extra time here at the Sochi Olympics—and also have extra stuff I couldn’t get into my column, I’ll type out this stuff. If not, I won’t. But today, I do have plenty of extra stuff. Such as:

I took a train from the Olympic Park into Sochi. And man, are my legs tired of being patted down.

A geography lesson: There are no actual Olympic venues in Sochi proper, although it will be the site of the nightly medal presentations. Sochi is about 20 miles away from the Olympic Park area in Adler, where the arenas and stadiums are for the flatland-based events. The mountain events are about 30 minutes up a river valley from Adler. Rail lines connect all three locations to each other.

My concern was that, because I will be out covering events most every night once the Games begin, I might never get into Sochi itself unless I did so before the Opening Ceremonies. And so Mercury News colleague Elliott Almond and I rode into town late in the afternoon. We rapidly discovered that the security to get in and out of train stations here is very intense, owing to the train station terror bombing back in December a few hundred miles away.

In fact, the security situation at the train stations is more thorough (so far) than getting into any Olympic venue – or even at some airports. At least five or six TSA or police types staffed every security lane, ordering people to empty every pocket, take off every belt, etc. After all that and a walk through the magnetometer, there was an extremely intimate patdown – with a man assigned to pat down every male passenger and a female for every female passenger. Only then could we board the train. But once on, the ride was smooth and the cars were comfortable. Same routine on the ride back fromSochi. Another complete patdown for legs and arms and torso. Spectators taking the trains to events had better leave way early. Getting through those lines will take a while.

–Meanwhile, on the train car walls, as is the case with seemingly every vacant space in town, was hockey player Alex Ovechkin’s face smiling at me (with one vacant tooth) while holding a bottle of Coca Cola. He’s definitely the biggest star in the country.

— Once in Sochi, Elliott and I took a stroll down the most busy streets in town. Lots of fairly upscale stores (including an Apple outlet) and some cheaper ones, which jibes with what I had heard: Sochi is a town of contrasts, with a wealthy class and then a big dropoff to an almost-poverty class on the outskirts.

— We then took a tour of the town museum, which cost 100 rubles (about $3) and an extra 50 rubles if you want to take pictures. It’s always fascinating to see what’s in a local museum like that, because the city obviously wants to display things that make it proud.

— In Sochi’s case, there are exhibits of vegetables, coins, cannons, rocks, stuffed birds and animals from the pre-civilization days. Then there’s another wing of modern history, including pioneers and explorers. A famous malaria clinic was built here and scientific advances were spawned there. During World War II, wounded Russian soldiers were sent here to a recuperative clinic. In one room, there is an old Soviet Union space capsule that once carried a local astronaut to fame.

— But my favorite displays involved pictures of Russian men in enormous furry hats or all shapes and sizes. My personal contention is that Russia leads the world in hat architecture. I’ve got to go shopping for one before the Games are over.

— Oh, yes. On the train, a recording constantly informs visitors that “Sochi is a smoke-free city.” But oddly, as you walk the city’s streets, second-hand cigarette odor lingers everywhere. Could it be a Russian cologne?

— Imagine a sports festival taking place inside a giant construction site with tens of thousands of police and security folks, wearing bulky winter uniforms. That’s the feel of these Games. But on television, I’m sure NBC will make it look very romantic. So far, this reminds me most of the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004, where construction workers were banging away and landscaping was not complete right up to the Opening Ceremonies and big canvas banners covered up incomplete projects. But you’d never have known it watching on television. Expect the same here.

— And now, finally . . . the Big Gay Propaganda Item Of The Day!

As you know, a Russian law bans “gay propaganda,” so at least once in each and every diary, I am pledging to violate that law, just because. (Well, not really just because. I am straight. But I am offended by such a stupid law. So I hope my gay friends don’t mind me rattling the cage on their behalf.)

Anyway, I was wondering if all the controversies connected to these Games – particularly the terrorist threats and the anti-gay attitude of Russia – had cost the US Olympic Committee any money. Specifically, had any corporations cut back on their support for the USOC because those companies just didn’t want to deal with the whole Sochi toxicity and didn’t want to bring any clients or guests to the Games.

I asked Lisa Baird, the chief marketing officer for the US Olympic Committee, about all this. She denied there had been any corporate drawdown of support at all. In fact, Baird said, some companies increased their financial contributions and sponsorship efforts strictly because they wanted to send a message through the USA Team, which has come out strongly against the Russian law. The corporations are strongly aboard that sentiment.

“They love the fact that Team USA reflects the diversity in America,” Baird said.

Kenya’s David Rudisha, who broke his own world record in the 800 meters on Thursday, suggested a meeting in the middle with Jamaica’s imcomparable sprinter Usain Bolt: A match race over 400 meters.

“He used to run 400 meters,” Rudisha told a news conference. “I also run 400 meters early in the season and we were just making fun, and saying that maybe just one time we should race over 400m and see who wins, it would be great.

“Usain Bolt is the greatest sprinter I have ever seen. People love Bolt because of his great achievements. I knew if I could do something special tonight, it would be great for me.”

Bolt actually said before the Games that he would consider running in the 4×400 relay, if asked by his coaches.

Bolt has said many times he would not embrace the hard training needed to become a regular 400m man, but some experts believe he could become the first man to break 43 seconds, if he ever got serious about the event.

After sweeping the 100/200 meters at back-to-back Olympics, you have to wonder if he’ll decide he needs a new challenge.

Former Olympic track star Marion Jones has little doubt about it — she believes that Usain Bolt is the sport’s greatest star. Ever.

“I certainly think based on the fact that he’s still so young and that he’s already accomplished so much that, barring serious injury or anything else, I think that he certainly would be considered the greatest track and field athlete ever,” Jones told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday.

“And that’s based on the fact that he’s so young. This is not a person who’s 34 or 35 years old. He’s young, he’s vibrant, he sees that there’s so much left for him to do in the sport. People might not say that. People might say, ‘He already has the world record. How much faster can you go?’ But when you’re young, you think differently than a lot of people. You think the sky is the limit.”

Jones, who expects Bolt to win the 200 meters on Thursday, said it’s more than his accomplishments on the track that set the Jamaican star apart from the elite.

“I think the reason that he has emerged into such a star, it’s certainly more than just the fact that he can run super fast,” Jones said.

“There have been so many athletes in the history of track and field that have accomplished that, but it’s everything else that he brings to the table. It’s the excitement, it’s the bravado … it’s the swag that he has prior to the race, after the race. It’s almost like it does not faze him.”